Ealing Council allegedly told a couple they were 'too white' to adopt a black or asian child.

The Daily Mail reports that Francesca Polini, 40, and her husband Rick applied several years ago because there was a national shortage of ethnic minority couples looking to adopt.

But the couple claim officials from the town hall told them there was a cap on white parents adopting black or Asian children.

Mrs Polini said: ‘The woman didn’t even meet us, she just told us on the phone, “I’m afraid you are too white for us to permit you to adopt one of our children”.

‘There was no assessment, it was based purely on our skin colour, and that shouldn’t be what qualifies you to adopt. None of this is about the child’s best interests and frankly it’s immoral.’

The couple looked abroad for a child and eventually won permission to adopt a girl in Mexico. Gaia, now two, was granted British citizenship last year, her parents hope to adopt a second child from Mexico.

There are more than 80,000 children and teenagers in care in Britain, and white children are more likely to be adopted than those from ethnic minorities.

Mrs Polini is campaigning for an end to ‘caps’ on inter-racial adoption. She has set up an organisation, Adoption with Humanity, and has written a book about her experiences.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families has apologised to the family for ‘unacceptable and inappropriate’ delays in the handling of their case and has said councils should not bar white couples from adopting black or Asian children.

Ealing Today has asked the Ealing Council for comment regarding its policy.